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Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum (c. 550-1530)

Sir William Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum contains a vast collection of monastic charters and others sources relating to English monasteries and collegiate churches from the 6th century to the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s. The main body of the work is divided into sections each dealing with a monastic order, such as the Benedictines, the Gilbertines and the Knights Hospitallers, and the buildings which belonged to it. Since the development of the monasteries and the Church of England were inextricably linked, this collection offers not only valuable insight into the medieval religious world but also a history of the foundations of all the principal churches in England. The volumes are illustrated with portraits of monastic figures showing the distinctive dress of each order.